Affective and Cognitive Responses to Distress: the ‘A’ And ‘C’ Components of I-Pace Model Hypothesized to Explain the High Prevalence of Internet Gaming Disorder in Africa

Abstract

Background: Internet use is basic part of contemporary people’s lives globally and it’s being used for education, business, and leisure. However, the use of internet has become addictive behavior for some to the point that internet gaming disorder became an emerging diagnosis in DSM-5. Based on the available statistics and fact, Africa has the lowest internet users and penetration rates, yet she has the highest prevalence of internet gaming disorder. This concerns trigger the researcher to seek for answer to the question of why the phenomenon is high in Africa continent. Therefore, this study hypothesized that affective and cognitive responses to distress are reasons for high prevalence of IGD in Africa. Methods: This study was a web-based cross-sectional survey of 728 eligible respondents who assented to participate via google form. The samples were drawn from four major regions in Africa; Eastern Africa (416, 57.1%), Western Africa (129, 17.7%), Southern Africa (93, 12.8%) and Northern Africa (90, 12.4%). Researcher-generated socio-demographic questionnaire and Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS9-SF) were used to collect data from the participants. Results: Results from this study implied that higher rate of IGD in africa was found to be associated with unbearable level of hardship (p=0.012), unbearable level of hardship in African countries (p=0.011), high level of stress (p=0.002), and that internet gaming is one way to cope wih life stress and it is tested significant to precipitate the high rate of IGD in Africa (p=0.001). Conclusion: The study concluded that level of hardship in Africa and high level of stress are keys to high rate of IGD in Africa; hence, African leaders are challenged to alleviate hardship and stress in Africa, this will help African youths to make use of their time meaningfully.